Four highlights from Warriors’ easy victory over Bulls

JaVale McGee goes down

Remember earlier, on the previous page, when I said sometimes bad things happen too? Yeah, this is what I was talking about. It’s not fun, but, nonetheless, it’s noteworthy.

With about seven minutes left in the third quarter in Golden State’s win, JaVale McGee went down hard and seemed to injure himself. Chicago’s big man Robin Lopez got the ball at the elbow and dribbled it into the paint. He came to a jump stop, pump faked, and got McGee in the air.

The Warriors’ center was fooled and leapt up. Lopez undercut him as he went up to take the layup. McGee fouled Lopez as he tried to brace himself by grabbing onto the Bulls’ center. The two bigs went down.

Lopez immediately got up as McGee grabbed his backside. He rolled around for some time until he decided to get up with the help of his teammates. He took a few steps then put his hands on his knees and bent over.

Eventually, McGee gingerly walked to the locker room as the referees reviewed the play to determine if it was a flagrant foul or not. They determined it wasn’t, making the line between common and flagrant even more confusing.

The Warriors’ center would return to the bench with the possibility of returning to the game, but they didn’t need him to. He told Steve Kerr after the game that he fell on his rear and that “both cheeks really hurt.” The fact that he’s joking about the injury is a good sign.

Golden State can’t afford to lose another big man. With Zaza Pachulia and David West out, the Warriors need all the help they can get. Luckily McGee didn’t seriously injure himself, but it’s a sign of a weakness in his game: he jumps way too much. He tries to block every shot when he should try to stay on his feet sometimes.